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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23678257">Scarlet Widow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkBalance/pseuds/DarkBalance'>DarkBalance</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Adrinette April 2020 [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrinette April, Adrinette April 2020, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alternate Timeline, Angst, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Episode: s03 Chat Blanc, F/M, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Gabriel done effed up, Protect Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:47:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>770</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23678257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkBalance/pseuds/DarkBalance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the break up went differently, and neither Marinette nor Adrien noticed the Akuma?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Adrinette April 2020 [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Adrinette April 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Scarlet Widow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417334">The Widow</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lycaonpictus77/pseuds/Lycaonpictus77">Lycaonpictus77</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>prompt #9, alternate timeline.</p><p>My God, this took forever for me to get to a point where I was satisfied, and I'm still not particularly happy or proud of this work. There are moments I absolutely adore, but it still feels... eh. Feedback would be great.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette’s heart felt heavy when she looked at Adrien. He always looked so <em>happy</em> when to see her, almost like she was the sunshine and he had been in the dark all his life. Marinette thought that was ridiculous because it was Adrien who was Marinette’s sunshine. He was always, so happy, so sweet, so innocent, so cheerful, and his light was contagious, it made everything in life brighter. Marinette hated the thought of breaking his heart. And now she had no choice but to do so.</p><p>
  <em>Your relationship is bad for the Agreste brand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Either end your relationship, or Adrien will be removed from school.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He’ll never see you or his friends again.</em>
</p><p>Gabriel was Adrien's <em>father</em> and he wanted her to break up with him.</p><p>+++</p><p>The words caught in her throat as she spoke them, <em>we aren’t right for each other. It’s too much pressure. I don't love you anymore.</em> They felt like acid coming up her throat and lingered like a bad smell as she watched Adrien process her stuttered words.</p><p>And then something inside of her snapped, something inside of Marinette that she didn’t know existed. It was like she had been hanging on to her sanity by the smallest, thinnest, weakest thread in her sewing bag, and the look on Adrien’s face, the absolutely devasted expression, the desperateness in his tone as he pleaded, <em>no, we love each other, don’t do this you can’t do this I love you,</em> something inside of her broke and she went from feeling sad and despondent, from feeling helpless and wondering just how everything spun so far out of their control, to feeling <em>furious.</em></p><p>Gabriel was Adrien's father and he wanted her to<em> break up with him</em>? Marinette was bad for Adrien’s image? She was a <em>bad influence</em> on him? Since when was <em>happiness</em> a bad influence? Why was that something so hard for Gabriel to accept? Adrien had been miserable with that restless schedule, from school to clubs to tutoring to photoshoots to fittings to fashion shows to events to more tutoring to <em>you can’t go out because I said so</em> and it had been unfair! Then, just as soon as Marinette had him, as soon as Adrien finally saw her and loved her and wanted her, this man, this complete asshole of a man, this giant dick bag of a man wanted them to break up? And he wanted Marinette to be the one responsible? After she had spent so much time planning and plotting and gathering her courage? After the last month of pure, unadulterated <em>bliss</em> she and Adrien have had? After knowing what it was like to be his and he hers and it be <em>real</em>? After seeing Adrien smile at her like she was the sun, she was supposed to let him go back to that darkness? After making friends with half a school full of kids, he wanted to send his son back to loneliness? All Adrien has ever wanted was true, genuine love, and as many friends as he could get. And now, she had to make the choice of letting him keep that happiness, or letting him keep her. In the end, it was a matter of hurting him and hurting him more.</p><p>And hurting herself in the process.</p><p>No. <em>No</em>. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she was freaking <em>Ladybug</em>. She would be damned if she let the likes of Gabriel Agreste, no matter how many fashion empires he ran and how many careers he ruined, <em>ever</em> take away Adrien’s happiness, especially if his happiness was hers.</p><p>Marinette never noticed the butterfly attach itself to her hair ribbon, and neither did Adrien. She only felt the thrill of everything falling back into place, of control being grasped firmly in her hands again, the coolness falling down her back. She felt Adrien’s hands in hers. She heard Hawkmoth’s voice in her mind and even more something else clicked into place. Of course it did. She was freaking Ladybug. If anyone was going to connect the dots, it was going to be her.</p><p>
  <em>Don’t worry, Adrien.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m not leaving you anymore.</em>
</p><p>The look on his face was shocked. She couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not, if it was the pleasant surprise of her undoing the breakup, or if it was the disappointment of her giving in to darkness. Whatever it was, Marinette didn’t have time to soothe him. <em>Scarlet Widow</em> did not have time to soothe him.</p><p>No, she had a moth to squash beneath the heel of her shiny black boots. Let him try to destroy her sunshine again.</p>
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